Casualties of War
Omega, the final letter in the Greek alphabet.
Represents the end...
Jesus Christ himself said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First... and the Last."
The First... and the Last...
The First... shall be... the Last.
...
The Blue blurs feet rustled the forest around. The background become nothing but mixed images, as he ran so fast they ceased to exist. The sun was starting its slow descent, and night would fall soon. No matter, he was the fastest thing alive, after all. He was so angry. So fucking angry. He was ready to tear anything that moved apart. But his rage was not without reason. He was going to find that damn robot if it killed him. But first...
The sultry bat stretched her arms and wings out wide. Once again, she was alone in the base. This pleased her though, she enjoyed being alone. In a few minutes, she would have to meet with one of her campuses way out west. Ugh, she hated it.
But she was not alone. Her wings folded in, and her bat ears twitched at the sound. He was fast, too fast... Jerking her head away, she could hear the clanks of footsteps against metal flooring. She dropped her fingers to her side, and pulled a gun from her side arm. Bringing it up, she took aim at the opposite end of the hall way. Things were silent for a while, until a blue flash appeared. She flinched at the sight, but as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Rouge was no fool though. She knew who it was, only an idiot couldn't tell.
"SONIC!" she roared, her wings flapping.
She took off down the hall, and began flying at speeds the King himself would blink at. Still, he was faster, he always was. By the time she was able to pinpoint his location, he had already made is safely out of the base. Rouge grew angry after realizing he was gone. But then, she started thinking. What was he doing here? Putting her gun back in its holster, she traveled the long lonely halls of the G.U.N. base. Out of all the doors, only one was open. The doorway to the armory. Rouge felt her heartbeat increase as she walked in. The G.U.N. armory was filled with some of the most deadly weaponry none to man. As she trekked among the weapons, she was relieved to notice not one was out-of-place. Well, almost...
All the way in the back was where the hand to hand combat weapons were held. Among them, Shock Hands. Big, bulky, gloves with holes in the palm that could deliver shocks ranging from stun, to kill. Side by side they were lined up, and one was missing. Rouge looked at the empty area, her heartbeat once again increasing.
"No, Sonic," she said, to no one in particular, "No... whatever you are going to do... don't do it, just don't do it!"
...
"Wake up Sally..." the cold machine said.
She just needed to sleep it all away. As her eyes opened, she looked at the cold red optics belonging to Omega. Her ears twitched, and she could hear the sound of rushing water behind her. She could remember when she fell asleep. Surprisingly, the feeling of being held, the wind blowing through your hair, was enough to knock her out. She smiled.
Stretching out her arms, she yawned and asked,
"Omega, where are we?"
"Look." he answered.
She turned away, and saw, what appeared to be a hidden cove. They stood on a beach, the rushing water of the sea crashed at Omega's feet, and the sky was turning a vibrant orange and purple color. Even though it were still day, stars could still be seen. With his friend now awake, the metallic being stepped off toward the cove. Along the side he trekked, until he stopped near the cove's entrance. Lifting his metal hand, she slammed it against the cave's wall. Out of no where, lights appeared. On the ceiling of the cove, the floor, and on the walls too, pounds upon pounds of jewels. The jewels weren't the usual fare though, and they lightened up the surrounding area when struck. Omega's punch at the beginning sent a shock through the cave that set off all the rocks.
"Omega," the Queen said, "where are we?"
Walking, the machine plucked a shimmering diamond from the ground. Shaking it, the rock began to shine brighter and brighter. Handing it to Sally he said,
"They are call Vibradium. It is a special kind of jewel that uses kinetic energy to produce light. Hope named them, and we discovered them shortly after landing here. When a man proposes to his wife, he usually gives her this... or battles her father in an intense game of Golf... this way is more popular." he turned away, and started walking deeper into the cave, Sally followed, "I like this place," he continued, "it's quiet, bright... and beautiful... when I come here, my messaging system is ruined by the vibration of the rocks, meaning Shadow and Hope can't reach me. It is one of the few times I can be truly alone." coming to a stop, he came to a throne made up of the jewels, turning around, he sat on it like a king, "As you can tell, I have a lot of time on my hands."
"Did you make that?" Sally asked, causing Omega to nod.
"I enjoy my alone time."
Walking up, Sally suddenly felt so shy. Omega was being so nice to her, which was such a rapid departure from his personality. She no longer feared him like before. Deep down, he could be nice. So, once she came to Omega, she sat in his cold lap. The machine gazed down to her, and started dragging his claw through her hair.
"Thank you, Omega." she sniffed, a tear falling out.
"Do not mention it." he replied.
"Why are you so nice to me?" she suddenly asked, to which the machine's eyes flashed yellow.
"Because you are nice to me." he said, sincerely, "And I love it when you get angry... I love rage." Sally giggled at the words, but Omega continued, "Sooner, or later, you will have to return to your husband."
Sally's eyes faltered, and she looked down.
"I know, Omega... but why is he acting like this? This isn't the Sonic I know."
"Sonic is a free spirit, but now he must be King." he looked her up and down, "To ask someone like him to take up such a dastardly position of power, is insane."
"So... you think... Sonic is only acting like this, because of the pressure of being a king?"
"Yes, that is what I believe..."
He removed his hand from her head, and laid it one the armrest of his throne. They were silent for a while. Sally dragged her eyes around the cove, and took in just how beautiful it was. Returning her eyes to Omega, she noticed the machine must have gone into sleep mode. His red optics were a dull black, and his body did not make any noises. Smiling, she climbed up on his cold body, bent down, and gave him a kiss on the side.
"Thank you, Omega..." she said.
"SALLY!" his voice echoed from the entrance of the cove.
The Queen's heart froze. How did he find them? How did he know she was even gone. But, she thought, this was for the best, right now... they needed to talk.
"Sonic, I have some-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence, before she felt a hand across her face. The force of that single blow, made her wilt and fall back. On the ground, she looked at her own reflection in a shimmering rock. Her cheek was red with pain. And, she was crying. When did that happen? And the tears continued. She laid her hands on her eyes, and began to cry harder than she ever did in her entire life. Standing above her, watching this her beloved husband. If only she knew the war waging in his mind.
Why the hell did you do that!? his conscious roared.
Screw her! the opposite side barked, In fact, she's been screw that robot, so double screw her!
I can't believe you Sonic! You slapped Sally!
No! You slapped a whore!
Your wife, your Queen!
She was your Queen! But that robot!
The King laid his hands on his temples, and let out a cry into the air. Breathing in and out violently, he suddenly turned his head toward Omega. The machine's optics remained black though.
"What were you doing!?" the King yelled, his voice so different from usual, "Why was my wife climbing you like that!?"
Silence.
"Answer me!"
Silence.
The King grabbed his own quills, before looking down to his right hand. Over top it, a heavy black glove, that was tightened onto his arm. At the end of the glove, on the palm of its hand, an electrical hole. Sonic began to turn the dial on the glove from stun, all the way to kill. Once the dial stopped turning, the hole on the palm began to massively exude electrical impulses.
"ANSWER ME!" he roared again.
As if in slow motion, his hand moved toward Omega. The machine remained silent for a while, until his powerful metallic hand clamped down on Sonic's wrist. The palm was only a few inches away from Omega's head, sparing him an electrical pain. Still, Omega remained silent, and his eyes remained black.
"Parsing, Parsing." A monotone female voice came from his body. "Scanning, Scanning. Scanning complete! Back-Up Complete! Boot Up Complete! File Check Complete! Unite E-123 Omega, Operational!
Those words finished, Omega's eyes suddenly turned red. His grasp increased in power, and Sonic felt an intense pain course up his appendage. He let out a cry of pain, until Omega lifted his opposite hand. He attached his free hand onto Sonic's shoulder, lifted him up, and then threw him powerfully through a pile of shimmering rocks. The force of the throw was so strong, Sonic crashed through the rocks, and didn't stop until he landed on the sand outside of the cove. Omega stood from his makeshift throne, and began walking toward his assailant. His claws receded into his arms, and were then replaced with his signature twin Gatling Guns. Before he left though, he gazed down to Sally, who remained in the same cry position as before. He remained stoic though, or did he. Since his robot face couldn't show emotion, it was impossible for anyone but Omega to tell what he was feeling. Returning his gaze to the end of the cove, the jet engines on his back snapped on. With burning intensity, it propelled Omega out of the cove, and onto the sands outside.
Sonic rubbed his head as the pain began to subside. Before he stood, he plucked a few jagged pieces of rock out of his body. Once he got to his feet, the force of Omega's body hitting the sand almost made him topple over. But the King wouldn't be intimidated, so he remained tall. Lifting his electric hand, he pulled back the dial on the glove once again.
"I'll kill you." the King threatened, "I'm going to dismantle you, and throw your pieces in the ocean."
Omega was fearless. Gazing down the King, he retained his cold exterior as usual. Lifting his Gatling Guns, he said, ominously enough,
"We shall see..."
The machine trained his guns on Sonic's position, and fired. His many bullets pierced the air with speed and sound. But Sonic was faster. He disappeared in a blue blur, and dashed around the spray of bullets. Once he reached Omega, he was surprised to feel the machine's claw on his shoulder once again. The machine lifted him up, and then slammed him in the ground so hard, sand flew skyward.
"I was created to kill Shadow," he said, "you are, an inferior being."
Omega lifted his gun barrel to Sonic's head, but the King was deceptive. He performed a Spin Dash, and launched himself out of Omega's claws. Landing yards away, he felt the delayed reaction of pain surge through him. Omega had no such reaction though. Putting his Gatling guns away, he replaced them with flamethrowers. Without apprehension, he fired a double column of flames toward Sonic. The flames came near Sonic, forcing him to the ground. He dropped to his hands, and began to spin on the ground like a break dancer. He did this at such high speeds, he created a miniature tornado, that caused the flames to fly away. Realizing his attacks were doing anything, Omega opened a panel of rockets on his back side. The rockets came out, launched skyward, and then pinpointed themselves on Sonic's position. As he was busy putting away the flames, he didn't have time to notice the rockets until it was too late. The explosion went off, sending sand and sea water skyward. Omega's flames ceased, and he began to scan the dust storm his explosions created. Sonic wasn't in it. Not even his, supposed to be, dead body. He was behind him.
Omega's entire body spun around at great speeds, allowing him to grab Sonic before he could shock him. And yet, the King grinned. Taking his free hand, he began to punch Omega powerfully in the body. Though the machine was made with high-end, high-powered steel, Sonic's years of fighting machines gave him the strength to hurt Omega. Each punch was followed by another punch, each stronger than the last. Though he didn't dent Omega, his attacks still hurt, and it caused Omega to let go. He stepped back in pain, and released his grip on Sonic. The King dropped, and felt the rush of pain go over him. Omega, having a quicker reaction time, receded his claw into his arm, and replaced it with a cannon. Pointing it forward, he fired.
A great and powerful flame rocketed out, and drenched the sands in flames. The fire was so hot, it actually disintegrated them. Sonic barely had time to dodge it. Landing away after a leap, the King got down and began to Spin Dash. Omega aimed his cannon at the King's position, and let forth another powerful blast of fire. The King had bet on this though. After gaining enough kinetic energy, he propelled himself forward through the flames. Not expecting this, Omega was was left with no time to react. The Blue Blur collided with Omega's chest, and sent him flying away. The machine fell back onto his feet, and laid his claws on his chest. Finding this the perfect time to attack, Sonic ran forward, delivering powerful punch at that. Omega suspected this though, and grabbed his hand before he touched him. Lifting him up, the machine began to punch him over, and over again in the gut. The force behind each punch was so strong, it was a wonder why Sonic hadn't puked yet. After a minute of powerful punching, Omega lifted Sonic up higher, spun him around, and then slammed him into the ground. Unlike the last time though, the King was silent. Omega scanned him. His heart rate had slowed, and so did his breathing, but he was alive. For now, anyway.
The machine replaced is claws with his Gatling guns for, what he believed, the last time. Pointing it toward Sonic's head, he prepared to execute him. But Sally stopped him. She laid her hand on Omega's shoulder, and the machine stopped instantly.
"No, Omega," she said weakly, "just, stop..."
The machine returned his gaze to Sonic, but replace his Gatling guns with his claw. His arms fell, and he turned to her. Bad mistake.
Sonic sprang up at greater speeds than possible, and attached the electrical glove onto Omega's side. Powerful pulses of electricity coursed through his body and around it, causing him to scream in pain. Omega, screamed, in pain.
He fell back, onto his knees, but was still alive. His optics though cycled through a variety of colors, showing he was badly injured.
"Can't see," he said, "can't, can't, can't, see, see, see!"
Sonic, while bleeding from the fight, stepped forward. Grabbing onto the dial, he turned it slowly, setting it from stun, back to kill. As he walked forward, Sally got in his way.
"Please, Sonic, stop!"
"Get out the way, Sal!" he growled.
"Why are you doing this!?" she cried, the tears running down her cheeks, "Why!?"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he roared, and yet, she stayed stern.
"Sonic, what's gotten into you?"
The King looked at her, square in her big, blue, eyes. All of this, all of it, felt extremely familiar. He remembered, standing on Dr. Eggman's Egg Carrier. It was storming. The clouds were black, the wind strong, and he were tired. Between him, Amy, behind him, the machine known as E-102 Gamma.
"Sonic stop!" Amy cried.
"Why are you defending him!" the King questioned, but he wasn't sure if he were talking to Sally or Amy.
"He's a nice robot!" he heard her say, Sally or Amy, he couldn't tell, "He means you no harm."
"He attacked me! Get out-of-the-way Amy!"
Flinching, the Queen wondered why he said that.
"Amy?" she questioned, "SONIC!" she roared, breaking him from his flashback, "What is your problem?"
The King looked at her. His green eyes scanning her blue ones. His mouth slacked open. And he began to cry.
"Sally." he said, his face growing angry despite his rage, "What were you doing to him?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, stepping back.
"You kissed him," he said, his voice becoming forceful, "do you love this machine?"
Sally flinched again, as if she had been insulted and slapped.
"Love him? Sonic! Omega's a machine!" she said, "I married you! Do you understand that!?"
"Then why did you kiss him?" Sonic pressed.
"Omega's a friend!" she cried, "I was showing affection."
"Why?"
"Look at you! You've been losing your mind ever since we landed here! Growing distant, not talking as much, getting angry off of nothing! You've changed! Omega gave me a shoulder to cry on..."
Gazing to the sand, Sonic understood her words. Had he really been neglecting her like she said.
"Why are you doing this, Sonic?" she suddenly asked, "Why are you acting this way?" stepping forward, she laid his hand on his muzzle, "Is something, wrong?"
"Sal..." he sad, dragging his hand up her body, "I... I..."
He noticed something. Running up Sally's thigh, up to her but, four claw marks. Seeing that, made everything melt away. His mind turned red, and he grew angry. Looking to Sally, he gave her this horribly, evil frown.
"Where did this come from?" he said, pointing to the mark.
Sally's face began to blush.
"Sonic..." she said.
"WHERE!?"
"From me, me, me." Omega said as he struggled to his feet, "I marked Sally." he lifted his claw, "A form of endearment, ment, ment." he said, marveling at his claw, "From me, to her, her, her." his head turned to him, "Does that, make you, mad, mad, mad?"
The King ran forward, and slammed the electrical glove onto Omega's body.
...
So this was what death was like.
At the highest setting, the glove sent electrical pulses through Omega's body so strong, it began frying circuitry. The machine could feel the sensation of his body going numb from the loss of internal commands. And it felt so cold. Omega had never felt cold before. In fact, he never felt hot before. He never felt the wind, he never felt the soft touch of others, never smelt anything, tasted anything. He never felt anything. But this cold feeling, this cold, life ending feeling, was how death felt like. He didn't know if he should be privileged to at least feel this, or not. Death was seconds away, and yet if felt like an eternity. Did robots have a heaven? Do good machines go to a place in the sky when they died? He had a soul, so would he? Probably not. Even with a soul, he was sure he wouldn't go to heaven. To be honest, he was almost sure Hell would be his home. Soul or not.
As his life ended, Omega had but two regrets. Dying, he was saddened by the fact he would never see Molly, Maria, and Jr. grow up. His nephew and nieces. He loved them. It was probably the first time he felt unconditional love. Dying, he prayed they would have a happy life. Free from any troubles or sadness.
But what Omega truly regretted, was not having the final battle he always wished for. He wanted to fight an entire army, all by himself. He wanted to go down because his body going out, not because of some lucky fool. Falling to Sonic, he wasn't sure, if he should be pleased or not. Knowing that he was so strong it took Mobius' greatest hero to kill him was nice, but not what he wanted. If anyone were to kill him in a one-on-one fight, it would be Shadow. That's how he felt.
He saw a light. A blinding light. On the other end, a blonde haired girl, wearing a blue dress, with angel wings. She gave Omega a smile that blinded him further. He grabbed a hold of her hand.
...
Sonic dragged his hand against his lips. Looking at his fingers, he saw a trail of blood dye it. He shook his head, breathed in heavily, and stood tall. E-123 Omega lied dead at his feet. But he wasn't pleased. Punching him weakly in the shoulder was Sally, who yelled at him and cried out to him. Why did he do this? For the greater good of the Mobian people, that's why. The commander and chief of the Black Arms was dead. But more importantly, for the greater good of his marriage. Omega was dead. Let's see him get Sally now.
"How could you, Sonic!?" Sally cried, her tears an unstoppable force.
She fell back, dove her face into her hands, and began crying her eyes out. Sonic began to twitch, but he knew not why. He looked down to his shock glove, and grew disgusted with the tool.
A panel opened up on Omega's back. Sonic looked at it, and stepped forward. It was a screen, and on the screen, to Sonic's surprise, was Dr. Eggman.
"So you've killed him Shadow!" Eggman said, showing it was a pre-recorded message, "I guess I should've known I couldn't create a machine that could kill you." the dead Dr.'s grin grew, "But I can try!" Above the screen, another panel opened up. Inside of this, a bomb, "I doubt even you can use Chaos Control fast enough to dodge this! Bye-bye, Shadow the hedgehog!"
Sonic's eyes widened. As fast as a gust of wind, he picked Sally up in his arms, and, despite her punching, ran off as fast as he could. With his back turned, he didn't see the explosion go off. But he could hear it.
...
"Omega!" Shadow voice boomed, "OMEGA! ANSWER ME NOW!"
He heard nothing. Coming out of his radio, nothing but static. It pierced Shadow's ears, but he had to reach his friend. Here he stood, the King did, in his bed room, slamming his hands on his desk.
"OMEGA!"
Behind him, on their bed, Hope. She had her hand on his lips, and was deadly silent. She just gave Shadow this horribly saddened look.
"OMEGA!" he roared out, "Omega!" he said again, except lower, "Omega..." he said once more, but now it was a whisper.
He laid his radio on his desk, and sat there. For two minutes, it was silent, until Shadow slammed his hand on the desk. Despite everything that was on the desk, papers, pictures, work, flowers, Shadow threw it all off of his desk. He sulked back into his chair, laid his hand on his temple, and began to cry. Shadow never cries.
"Sh-Shadow?" Hope said weakly.
He raised his hand, and slammed it down on his desk again, silencing her. He wished he was ignorant of Omega's demise. That damn vision, it just showed him the inevitable, not how to stop it, if he could have stopped it. He stood up, and began to pace the floor back and forth. Hope watched him, but she kept her mouth shut. There was no tricking Shadow. He knew Omega was dead. He didn't even show up on the radar anymore. Shadow's best friend, since his G.U.N. days was dead. And there was no doubt in his mind, that Sonic caused it.
The King ran to his door, slammed it open, and yelled out,
"MOLLY! MARIA! JR.!"
He grew silent, and seconds later, his three children dashed up. His children looked up to their father, and they appeared to be scared.
"Something wrong Daddy?" Molly asked first.
"I'm only going to say this once," he said, lifting his index finger, "I don't want any of you, any of you! To step foot on Dualius, got it!"
The wilted at his strong words. But Jr. had the courage to speak up.
"Why?" he asked.
Shadow looked at him. The young prince, seeing his father wasn't in the mood to be questioned, looked away.
"Just, don't, do it!" he turned back, and faced his wife, "Hope," he said, his voice low, "I'm going out."
"To do what, Shadow?" she said weakly.
"To fine Omega."
He dropped his crown and cape at his doorway, walked past his children, and dashed off in a yellow flash. It was fruitless. He never found him.